For Second Time This Week, Local Republicans Defend Democracy Against Trump

Chris Vance, the former Washington state GOP chairman and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, has again blasted his party’s presidential nominee.

This time Vance’s outrage is directed at Donald Trump’s refusal to promise he would accept the outcome of the presidential election.

Vance fired off a statement to reporters Wednesday night calling on all Republicans to disavow the statement:

“I am shocked and appalled at what I just heard from Donald Trump. Refusing to pledge to accept the results of the election is dangerous and UNAMERICAN. Democracy can only survive if all sides are willing to accept the judgment of the voters. I call on all Republicans to repudiate these dangerous remarks and make it clear that he does not speak for our Party.”

This was the second time this week that local Republicans have pushed back against Trump’s attempts to de-legitimize the election. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who is in charge of elections in the state, released a strongly worded statement saying that election results should be trusted in a clear rebuke of Trump’s statements that a conspiracy was afoot to steal the election from him.

“In recent days, we have heard heated campaign rhetoric about American elections being “rigged” and somehow predetermined. This kind of baseless accusation is irresponsible and threatens to undermine voter confidence on this most basic foundation of democracy.”

As we’ve reported, state Republicans are openly grappling with how to handle Trump, who remains popular in some deep-red pockets of Washington but could be toxic with moderate suburban voters. However, the statements from Vance and Wyman seem to go well beyond election year politics and speak to a fear of the corrosive effect Trump’s rhetoric could have on American politics in general.